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Old 04-12-2015, 08:38 AM   #1
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Come Join the "I Changed My Own IMSB Club"

This is not meant to be a scary thread and shouldn't be. One thing I think most can agree on is the bearing is an item that fails in about 1% of dual row cars and 8% of single row. That's enough to prompt some folks to treat the bearing as a maintenance item and change it out.

I thought I'd start this thread to provide those thinking about changing their own IMSB a resource to review to help make the decision whether or not to do it before diving in. I've seen folks not locking at TDC, or (gulp) dropping a fastener into the engine. So if you've changed your IMSB you can help others by posting here, and if you have a thread, include a link! Include the Good, the Bad (true confessions) and the Ugly. Remember, pictures or it didn't happen.

I cheated a little and changed mine while the engine was conveniently split. After lots of study I went back with a Nachi 6204 high temp fully sealed (Viton) steel bearing (about $10) with a couple of small holes drilled in the IMS chain sprocket to stop oil from getting pushed through the bearing. The lower photo shows one of the two holes drilled through the chain sprocket.

The Good, after everything I've read, I'm convinced that the grease will stay in the bearing, and with full seals, bearing killing foreign objects will stay out. Over 4000 miles and it's still running great. I also upgraded the IMSB bolt with the Pelican Parts kit.

The Bad, The repair is totally unproven, far as I know I have the only one.

The Ugly, made my own tools that were barely adequate for the job and I ruined a bearing.

What I'd do different, Get the right tools.





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Old 04-12-2015, 08:57 AM   #2
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If you had the shaft out, you should have also pinned the gears.
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Old 04-12-2015, 10:00 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by JFP in PA View Post
If you had the shaft out, you should have also pinned the gears.
And checked the drives for runout.

Jamesp, this is not the only one in service. I commend you for sharing your story.
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Last edited by Jake Raby; 04-12-2015 at 10:03 AM.
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Old 04-12-2015, 10:20 AM   #4
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Last one I did was on a car with ~256k and it appears to be the original bearing so I think it was probably getting close to the end of its service life...

200k Club Check-In


Last edited by healthservices; 07-12-2015 at 07:08 AM.
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Old 04-12-2015, 11:12 AM   #5
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What the hell? Four posts in and no one has attempted to shut this thread down as paranoia?

I've posted my EPS roller install here in this sub forum, but if you would like to data collect in a specific manner I'll put up the specifics.
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Old 04-12-2015, 12:20 PM   #6
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I was fortunate to have a bad engine to practice on before I worked on my good engine. I had the Pelican Parts kit, a LN Retrofit tool, the 101 projects book, the Bentley manual, and a set of factory service manuals. I reviewed several threads here and watched some decent YouTube videos before I started.
The problem came when I tried putting in the set-screws that came with the Pelican kit and realized that one of them was not in contact the IMS with the engine set to TDC. So I unlocked the camshaft and rotated the crankshaft slightly until all three screws had a grip. Having read through a variety of procedures, I was not following any one in particular. Heck, how hard can it be?
The bearing came out pretty easily, but once it was out it the set-screws shifted and the shaft moved about 1/4 - 3/8" inch to the side. Re-installing the old bearing in the bad engine I managed to get the bearing in position, but never fully installed the cover.
Lesson learned: Set-scews are bad. Pinning at TDC and locking the cam from the start, until fully reinstalled is good.
Installing the bearing in my good engine went pretty well. I did the procedure in this guide which is pretty much like the one from LN, but with great color pictures.
Both bearings were dual row with about 125k miles and rolled pretty smoothly, but the grease was completely gone and the shafts had foul smelling oil inside.
My related threads:
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/54527-maint-do-swapping-used-2-7-a.html
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/54660-little-scoring-2-rod.html
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/54973-got-my-salvage-01-road.html

Enough about me. We need to get the summary of the Gonzojive adventure in this thread.

Last edited by 78F350; 04-12-2015 at 12:31 PM.
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Old 04-12-2015, 12:32 PM   #7
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Lesson learned: Set-scews are bad.
Yet people keep doing it. I haven't read or heard of one instance where someone used them and loved the concept. Not once.
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Old 04-12-2015, 02:37 PM   #8
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I'm sure I'll get flamed but hear goes. I've done 4 LN bearings.

1. I bought the LN bearing and tool kit 2010 when I replaced the clutch in my 2.7 original motor (36.5K). This was done with the motor in the car, with LNs tools. I pinned the crank. Locked the cams released tension on the chain as note on Pelican's instruction and I used set screws that were 35mm long they worked out just fine. This motor was removed running at about 47K January 2013.

2. My 3.2/3.6 motor upgrade rebuild. I replace with LN bearing when the motor was going back together. I pulled it with LN's tool, installed with a press and LNs sleeve. This was done the winter of 2012-13 along with an LN cylinder resize, pistons, valves, springs, all gaskets bearings and some head work. Other than the LN cylinder work, everything else I did. It ran great the first time it turned over.

3. I removed the 3.6 motor again with a lot of on track time this past winter 2014-15 to make sure there was no serious problems because it had a lifter tap on cylinder 4. While it was out I decided to make more improvements ended up adding new rods, bearings, gaskets, heads from a 2006 that were almost new just over 10,000 miles machine work on the heads, and another new LN bearing. The bearing again the same way as the last one, was done as the motor was being reassembled. It ran well and has been track tested.

4. My Insurance motor the original 2.7 just finished rebuilding from the inside out. Stock everything but a LN sump spacer X51 style baffle and new LN IMS.
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Old 04-12-2015, 03:42 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jsceash View Post
I'm sure I'll get flamed but hear goes. I've done 4 LN bearings.
I'm hoping nobody gets flamed in this string. I'm certainly not flaming anyone. The intent is to create a string that anyone who is thinking about changing the IMSB can visit and get concentrated information on what people did, and why. That includes everyone and every idea on the fix. I was hoping for the benefits for a roller bearing discussion as folks with technical backgrounds have made that choice. No flames, just a technical discussion on why each solution was chosen. And I too am hoping for Gonzojive.
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Old 04-13-2015, 04:45 AM   #10
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I finally got my car back together after doing an imsb replacement. I went with the pelican bearing since I already had a single row bearing with a lot of mileage. I will be treating it as a maintenance item and just replace it every so often. I haven't decided how often yet but the car only gets about 5,000 miles a year.so I should be good for a while. The hardest part was disassembling everything to get to the bearing. Putting everything back together was much easier with the exception of reinstalling the transmission. That was a pain! Otherwise, with the proper tools and instructions (thanks Jake!) it was actually a breeze. Keep your workspace neat and keep track of where everything goes and there shouldn't be any issues. And thanks again to all on this forum for advice and insight!
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Old 04-22-2015, 08:19 PM   #11
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99 with 125,000 km. Did the EPS solution. Easy install. Easy oiler modification.
Old bearing was in good shape except the seals had fail so no factory grease left inside.
Only 2000 km so far, seems good.
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Old 07-06-2015, 06:46 AM   #12
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I just finished changing mine over the weekend. My 03 S had 55300 miles on it. I ran into a couple of glitches, but for the most part, it went well. The old bearing was in good shape, but I'm not sure it was original (is there a way to tell?). In any event, there were a few things that needed to be done on it anyways. There was an oil leak. I thought it was the RMS, but in the end, it looked like more oil was coming out of the IMS flange than the RMS. Since the oil was out of the car, I decided to add the LN oil filter spin on adapter.
It also needed a new clutch. Although the clutch wasn't slipping yet, it was really rather stiff. It was still the original clutch I believe and at almost 60k I figured it was time for a new one. The feel on the new clutch is SOOO much lighter. Compared to the old clutch, it now feels like it's not even connected. While the transmission was out, I decided to change it's oil as well. I decided to go with Royal Purple 75W-90. It feels a little smoother, but that could be the clutch.
Since I had to remove the exhaust to get to everything, I replaced it with a Manzo muffler/TopSpeed test pipe system. All I can say is....WOW. The sound is so fantastic. At 5K RPM, it sounds like a supercar. It's really incredible. There is fiberglass all over the car though. I'll have to hose the car off sometime this week.
I'm so happy to have all of this done. It's like having the car make it though a successful open heart surgery.

The next project will be the brakes and repainting the calipers.

Tony
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Old 07-15-2015, 10:14 AM   #13
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I just did mine.
2001 S with 122,000 miles on it. I was told the motor was replace sometime in its past but I can't confirm that.

Anyway, I had a single row that was in perfect condition when I replaced it. I ended up replacing just about everything I touched (RMS. IMS, Tensioners, Spark Plugs, motor oil, trans fluid (royal purple 75-90), clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, and fixed the rear spoiler).

Where do you stop?

It had a "small" RMS leak as the original owner called it...the underside of the car was preserved in a coating of oil and dirt about a 1/2" thick. It was obviously leaking a while.


I used the Pelican Parts bearing kit. Believe it or not the hardest part was installing the RMS. I destroyed 3 seals before getting the depth right and square.

I figure I'll replace the IMS every 40,000 miles.

I'll post a picture of the bearing when I get a chance.

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